Scrolling through a comment section after a Penn State Football loss, one might encounter comments reading “Fire Franklin” and “he can’t win the big game.” However, Penn State fans have been spoiled with successful seasons and should be more grateful for the success that has been brought to the program by current head coach James Franklin. 

Before Franklin worked for the University of Maryland as the program’s offensive coordinator for two seasons before being hired for his first head coaching job at Vanderbilt University. Franklin led Vanderbilt to 3 straight bowl games in his years as their coach. Prior to his tenure, Vanderbilt had only been to 3 bowl games in the school’s entire history before his tenure. He finished his Vanderbilt career with a record of 24-15.

This leads us to Franklin’s controversial time at Penn State. Franklin has led the Nittany Lions to a 99-41 record over his now 10 year career as the head coach. Besides the COVID season, he has led the team to a bowl game in every year of his tenure. Franklin has led the team to a top 25 finish in the AP poll in 7 of his years. 

Now, with all of this success, why are fans so eager to fire James Franklin? Even though he has been successful, Franklin has a 3-17 record against top 10 opponents over his Penn State career. Understandably, this has brought frustration from fans.

Comments under their post on X about their most recent post reflect this sentiment. One fan commented, “why is Franklin still the coach.” Another fan commented, “James Franklin continues to lose the big game but still gets paid millions of dollars per year.”

While fans’ gripes are valid, Franklin’s performance does not make him deserving of termination. Franklin has still won the Nittany lions to consistent winning seasons, which is something that many other programs cannot relate to. Additionally, Franklin has been able to recruit many highly touted prospects, most recently 5 star Quarterback Drew Allar. 

Even if fans get their way and fire Franklin, there are still many hurdles to overcome. Firstly, Franklin has a contract buyout of $56,666,667. In the world of NIL, this is a huge chunk of money for the university to have to pay to Franklin instead of focusing on trying to bring in more players. Additionally, the program would have to hire a new coach and start from scratch. Franklin has had a subpar record in big games, however, a new coach may not be any better. Who’s to say that a new coach would come in and immediately fix this problem?

Franklin has a chance to redeem himself and silence all of his doubters during the College Football Playoff beginning next week. The Nittany Lions face SMU in the first round and would be matched up with Boise State in the next round given the Nittany Lions win this Friday. 

A loss to SMU may give fans more fuel to push for Franklin’s termination. However, for now, James Franklin should be here to stay.